Reunited with stolen bike more than a year later

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"I just wanted to build something that was all my own," said McCormack. "And I don't dress very loud, but you know the bike was a little out there, it's kind of fun."

McCormack assembled the neon green bike himself, and he said it's worth about $2,600.

"The frame is very rare, yeah. There weren't many of these produced," he said.

On Valentine's Day 2011, the bike was stolen from McCormack's garage. McCormack works at Life Cycle Bike Shop in Eugene, and he reached out to friends and colleagues to watch out for his custom ride. But more than a year later, McCormack's bike was still missing.

Until he perused through postings on Craigslist this week.

"I was... shaking the night that I got on the computer and I found my bike," said McCormack. The listing showed his unique bike for sale for $800. The bike was exactly the same as he had left it.

"People get bikes stolen all the time. Normally, if you find it at all, it's going to come back with parts rearranged, things have been stripped. A lot of times it would have been painted flat black. The fact that this thing stayed the way it was is incredible," he said.

McCormack searched the Craigslist seller, and found a name and address. McCormack called Eugene Police, and explained all the information he had dug up. Police went to the seller, who said he had traded for the BMX bike from someone else.

While Eugene Police said they may never find the original bike thief, McCormack said he is happy just to have his wheels back.

"It's kind of nice to get a win. I've lost bikes before, I've lost a car before. And we have several customers who have lost bikes, and most of the time they're just not recovered," he said.

"This is just a lot of dumb luck, I think this is all my luck for the year. And I'm plenty happy to have my toy back."

McCormack said it's important for bike owners to document their items with photos and the bicycle's serial number, which can be found on the underside of the frame.